Valparaiso (0-26, 0-15 MVC)
Game #27 - February 19, 2026 - 6 p.m.
at Drake (7-17, 6-8 MVC)
Knapp Center (6,424) - Des Moines, Iowa

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team continues its final road swing of the regular season Thursday evening when it makes the trek to Des Moines to take on Drake.

Previously: The Beacons closed their weekend road trip against the top two teams in the Valley with a 77-37 loss at Belmont Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. Fiona Connolly paced Valpo with 11 points.

Following Valpo Basketball: Video: ESPN+
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com

Head Coach Courtney Boyd (0-26 at Valpo, 1st season; 180-94 [.57] overall, 9th season): Courtney Boyd was named the ninth head coach of the Valparaiso University women's basketball program on April 4, 2025. A national championship-winning head coach and player, an NAIA National Coach of the Year, and a two-time conference Coach of the Year, Boyd has won 20 or more games in seven of her first eight seasons as a head coach. She spent the last two seasons at the helm of the Quincy University program after six seasons as head coach at Clarke University, leading the latter program to the NAIA national title in 2022-23.

Series Notes: Drake leads the all-time series with Valpo, 19-3, including a 66-56 victory at the ARC last month. Milana Nenadic scored a team-high 18 points off the bench in that contest, while Kayla Sullivan (11) and Kayla Preston (10) scored in double figures as well. Valpo owns just one win in program history in 10 games at the Knapp Center. 

@ValpoWBB...
...at Belmont
- The Bruins got out to a 19-2 lead less than seven minutes into the ballgame.
- Valpo scored eight in a row on a 3-pointer by Mor Shabtai and five points from Milana Nenadic before Belmont scored in the final seconds to lead 21-10 at the end of one quarter.
- A 3-pointer from Allia von Schlegell on Valpo's second possession of the second quarter made it a single-digit game, and it was still an eight-point deficit at 23-15 with 7:25 to play in the half on a drive and finish by von Schlegell.
- Belmont ended the half on a 16-3 run to take a 39-18 advantage into halftime.
- Fiona Connolly hit all four of her field-goal attempts for 10 points in the third quarter, but the Bruins extended their lead to 62-32 with 10 minutes to play.
- Connolly scored a team-best 11 points, her 14th double-figure effort of the season. She also matched her career high with nine rebounds, sharing team-high honors with Nenadic, and tallied three steals to tie for a game high.
- Mikayla Huffine grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists while committing just one turnover.
- The Beacons shot just 19.4% from the field Sunday and were 6-for-33 from 3-point range, while the Bruins hit at a 36.5% clip and were 14-for-40 from deep.
- Valpo grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, its highest total since recording 22 at Missouri State Feb. 18, 2018. The Beacons held a 10-9 advantage in second-chance points over the Bruins, who had 18 offensive boards of their own.
- Valpo did hold two-time All-MVC performer Tuti Jones without a point in her 22 minutes of action.

...at Murray State
- Murray State held a pair of early five-point leads, but coming out of the first quarter media timeout, Valpo reeled off six in a row on an Allia von Schlegell basket and a pair of drives to the bucket by Fiona Connolly to go ahead 12-11 with 2:39 to play in the period.
- After the teams traded baskets, Murray State scored eight of the next ten to pull ahead by five points again. von Schlegell responded with a 3-pointer on Valpo's final possession of the first quarter to bring it within 21-19 at period's end.
- The Beacons limited the Racers to just four points over the first three-plus minutes of the second quarter, but on the offensive end, a von Schlegell triple accounted for the only points on Valpo's side of the board.
- Murray State went on an 11-2 run to pull out to a 36-24 lead with 2:10 to play in the half. Another 3-pointer by von Schlegell made it a single-digit game, and after the Racers scored with 30 seconds to play, Milana Nenadic converted a hook shot in the final seconds to make it a 38-29 game at halftime.
- von Schlegell connected again from deep less than a minute into the second half, shrinking the deficit to eight points at 40-32.
- Murray State scored on each of its next nine possessions, outscoring the Beacons 25-7 in that stretch, to lead 65-39.
- The Racers' advantage was 78-47 at the end of the third quarter, and while they led by as many as 38 points in the final period, Valpo battled back to cut the deficit to the final margin.
- von Schlegell led the Beacons with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. It was her 15th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 12th time she has dropped at least 15 points.
- Connolly scored in double figures for the 13th time this season, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
- Nenadic hit double digits for the ninth time with a 10-point evening and also paced Valpo on the glass with six rebounds.
- Valpo hit at a 43.5% clip from the field and was 7-of-24 from 3-point range, while the Racers shot 47.4% from the floor and were 11-of-29 from 3-point range.
- The Beacons were limited to three free throw attempts, going 2-of-3 from the stripe, while Murray State was 12-of-19.

...looking ahead
- Valpo's next game is at UNI, but that game won't be played until next Thursday.
- The Beacons then face a quick turnaround to return home for next Saturday afternoon and Senior Day against Illinois State.

...on the road
- Thursday's game is the ninth of 10 road games in MVC play for the Beacons, who played six true road games as well in the nonconference slate.
- Valpo is currently 0-14 in true road games.
- Last season's squad posted a 3-11 mark in true road games.

....and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo is in its ninth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Valpo was picked outside the top-four of the MVC preseason poll, as the Valley released only the top four selections.
- The Valley finished last season ranked seventh in the NET, matching the conference's highest NET/RPI ranking in Valpo's time as an MVC member (2020-21).

...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 13-19 overall record and went 9-11 in MVC play to finish in eighth place.
- Among the Beacons' 13 victories were a thrilling rally from a 20-point deficit for a home win over Drake which entered the game ranked 69th in NET, the program's highest-ranked win since a win over #54 UNI in 2021-22.
- Leah Earnest was tabbed a First Team All-MVC honoree as she concluded a decorated career that saw her finish first in program history in career rebounds and third in career scoring.
- The 2024-25 Beacons hit 245 3-pointers, third-most in a single season in program history, and tallied 314 steals, seventh on the program's single-season chart and the most since 2001-02.

@DrakeWBB
- Drake enters Thursday's game at 6-8 in Valley play and owns a 7-17 overall record.
- The Bulldogs had dropped five games in a row before earning an 88-70 home win over Indiana State last time out.
- Abbie Aalsma averages a team-best 14.8 points/game, while Ana Becker adds 11.2 points/game.

Allia's Big Day(s)
- Freshman Allia von Schlegell has been the Beacons' leading scorer in MVC play, but took it to another level in Valpo's last home game against Southern Illinois.
- von Schlegell's 29 points bested her previous career high of 19 points by 10, as she established a career high for field goals made and matched her career best for 3-pointers made.
- von Schlegell scored the most points by a Valpo freshman since Ali Saunders scored 32 against UAB Nov. 21, 2022. It also matched the most points by an MVC freshman this season.
- 15 of von Schlegell's points came in the fourth quarter alone as she outscored SIU in the final period. It is the most points in a single period by a Valpo player this season.
- Even more impressively, von Schlegell scored those 29 points while not committing a single turnover in 35 minutes of action. She is one of just five D-I freshmen this year with a game with 29 or more points and no turnovers.
- von Schlegell followed last Friday at Murray State with another big effort, going for a team-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including four 3-pointers.

The Freshman Fills It Up
- von Schlegell has made a big impact in her rookie season.
- She has scored in double figures 15 times this year - 12 times, von Schlegell has dropped at least 15 points - the most 15+ point games by a Valpo freshman since Dani Franklin hit the 15-point mark 12 times in the 2014-15 season.
- von Schlegell currently ranks second among MVC freshmen in scoring (11.5 points/game) and is first in 3-pointers made (55).
- She ranks 49th nationally in freshman scoring and is eighth among freshmen nationally in 3-pointers made.
- von Schlegell scored in double figures six times in nonconference action, tied for seventh-most in program history by a freshman in nonconference games since Valpo joined the North Star Conference for the 1987-88 season.
- Notably, the six players ahead of von Schlegell on that list all went on to earn All-Freshman/Newcomer Team honors and closed their time at Valpo among the top-12 in program history in career scoring.

Freshman Scoring Leaders
- von Schlegell has put herself in position to challenge Valpo's freshman scoring record.
- Sarrah Stricklett scored 377 points as a rookie in 1996-97, a mark which von Schlegell enters Thursday 77 points back of:
377 - Sarrah Stricklett, 1996-97
365 - Dani Franklin, 2014-15
351 - Debbie Bolen, 1989-90
331 - Tabitha Gerardot, 2010-11
329 - Meredith Hamlet, 2015-16
326 - Jeanette Gray, 1999-2000
322 - Ali Saunders, 2022-23
302 - Jasmyn Walker, 2014-15
300 - Allia von Schlegell, 2025-26

Connolly's Career Best Too
- von Schlegell wasn't the only Valpo player to set a career high in the home game against SIU.
- Senior Fiona Connolly edged past her previous career best of 21 points, accomplished twice earlier this season, with a 22-point effort against the Salukis.
- It is the first time two Valpo players scored 20+ points in the same game since Leah Earnest tallied 24 points and Layla Gold 21 versus Detroit Mercy Dec. 21, 2024.
- von Schlegell and Connolly combined for 51 points against the Salukis, the highest combined scoring output for two Valpo players since Tabitha Gerardot (32) and Gina Lange (24) combined for 56 in a win over Cleveland State Feb. 2, 2013.

Nenadic's Night
- It was truly a night to remember for Milana Nenadic at Illinois State Jan. 15, coming off the bench to deliver 34 points on 16-of-25 shooting.
- The 16 field goals made broke the program record for baskets in a single game, as the previous mark was shared at 15 by Deb Lahti (Feb. 19, 1983 vs. Carthage) and Lyn Swanson (Feb. 8, 1986 at Carthage).
- Nenadic is tied for ninth among NCAA D-I players this season for field goals in a game.
- Nenadic's 25 field goal attempts are tied for eighth-most in a single game in Valpo history.
- The junior now shares fifth on Valpo's single-game scoring chart with Dani Franklin, who dropped 34 at Stetson Nov. 12, 2016. Those two are the only Valpo players to score at least 34 in a game since 1992. Nenadic's 34 points are the most by a player coming off the bench in program history.
- The 34 points is tied with Murray State's Halli Poock for the highest-scoring game by an MVC player this season.
- Nenadic's previous career best was 20 points earlier this year while facing All-American Audi Crooks at Iowa State.
- Nenadic is just the fourth MVC player in the last nine seasons with at least 16 baskets in a game, and joins a few pretty solid players in that department — Drake's Katie Dinnebier, Belmont's Destinee Wells and Murray State's Katelyn Young.
- Nenadic went on to score 18 points later that weekend against Drake and was named MVC Newcomer of the Week Jan. 19 for her efforts, becoming Valpo's first MVC weekly award winner in over four years.

Skip the Second?
- Four times in MVC play, the second quarter has proven to be the Beacons' undoing.
- Most recently, the Beacons were outscored by SIU at the ARC 25-13 in the second quarter, while the other three quarters saw Valpo hold the 60-57 edge.
- Drake outscored Valpo at the ARC 19-7 in the second quarter, while the Beacons outscored the Bulldogs 49-47 in the other three periods.
- At Illinois State, a 31-12 second quarter for the Redbirds accounted for the entire final margin, as Valpo matched ISU 62-62 in the other three quarters.
- At Indiana State, the Sycamores' 24-13 advantage in the second quarter offset Valpo's 65-64 edge in the other three periods.

Shifting Starters
- Valpo has used ten different starting lineups this year, the most recent change coming at home versus SIU, as Nenadic joined Huffine, von Schlegell, Connolly and Sullivan.
- Ten different players have been a part of at least one starting five this year, with only one - Huffine - starting every game. All ten have started at least three games apiece.
- The Beacons have not used the same starting lineup in more than four consecutive games this season.

The Tall and the Short
- This year's Valpo roster features recent extremes on both ends of the height spectrum.
- Mor Shabtai and Mikayla Huffine both are listed at 5-4, making them the shortest Valpo players since 5-3 Rashida Ray (2007-11).
- On the flip side, Kamryn Winch and Milana Nenadic both check in at 6-3, making them the tallest Valpo players since 6-5 Nicole Johanson (2018-19).

International Flavor
- Valpo has a trio of international players on its 2025-26 roster: sophomore Mor Shabtai (Israel) and transfers Milana Nenadic (Ontario, Canada) and Kennedy Sproule (Manitoba, Canada).
- Prior to Shabtai's arrival last year, the Valpo program hadn't had an international player since Sharon Karungi (Uganda) roamed the paint from 2013-15.

Sister Act
- For the third straight season, the Beacons have a pair of sisters on their roster, as freshman Nuala Connolly joins senior sister Fiona on this year's squad.
- The last two years featured identical twins Nevaeh and Saniya Jackson.
- Before that, the last set of sisters to suit up together in the Brown and Gold were the trio of Hamlet sisters: Annemarie (2013-16) overlapped with both older sister Elizabeth (2013-14) and younger sister Meredith (2015-19).